Google Trends has updated its feature set and design to provide a simpler navigation and more ways to explore data and stories around one of the world’s biggest journalistic datasets. The purpose of the new design is to help journalists build stories around data they can find in this tool. [Source: Search Engine Land]

The market is brimming with influencers these days. Sensing the immense scope in this, Facebook – known for foreseeing trends sooner than others – is now trying to come up with new ways to attract more influencers to its network. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

With the recent acquisition of Semantic Machines, Microsoft is bolstering its commitment to conversational artificial intelligence (AI). With this move, Microsoft underscores its dedication to being on the leading edge of conversational AI and commitment to Cortana, its struggling-for-market-recognition voice assistant product, and other conversational products and platforms. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]

Facebook published three separate announcements covering its current efforts to stop the spread of fake news, fight misinformation campaigns and protect user safety. The overlap between these three issues has been a focus for Facebook since the company announced in March that it had suspended Cambridge Analytica for exploiting user data. [Source: Marketing Land]

If you use Gmail – which you probably do, considering the email option has more than a billion active users – you might be interested in the app’s latest update, and specifically, some of the new functionalities they’ve added in. [Source: Social Media Today]

Instagram is testing two new features that will keep users informed of how much time they’re spending in the app, helping to improve mental wellbeing and eliminate some of the FOMO that’s come with the introduction of the Instagram algorithm. [Source: Social Media Today]

Back in 2016, LinkedIn showcased a range of then coming new features, including their LinkedIn ‘Inbot’ personal assistant tool, which, when synched with your calendar, would be able to automatically arrange meeting times for you. Thus far, we’ve not seen any real progress on this front, but this week, we may have been given a hint of where LinkedIn’s digital assistant tools are headed, with Microsoft showcasing its advanced ‘Xiaoice’ digital assistant tool which is currently in use in China. [Source: Social Media Today]